House Majority PAC to spend $70k on new Rahall ad

By Paul Nyden

The House Majority PAC announced Thursday it will spend another $70,000 to broadcast a new ad backing the re-election of Rep. Nick J. Rahall, D-W.Va., in the Charleston-Huntington and Bluefield-Beckley television markets.

“Counting,” the new ad, questions why the Koch Brothers are spending so much money to promote the candidacy of Rahall’s opponent, state Sen. Evan Jenkins, R-Cabell.

The new television ad states, “Over $1 million and counting — that’s how much the New York billionaire Koch brothers are spending to elect Evan Jenkins.

“Last year, the Koch Brothers spent over $10 million lobbying politicians, fighting against the minimum wage and worker’s rights. … In Washington, Evan Jenkins won’t work for us.”

Charles and David Koch have recently spent or donated millions of dollars, typically to conservative and Republican candidates and causes.

A significant portion of Koch Brothers contributions have helped fund groups like Americans for Prosperity and the American Energy Alliance, the political arm of the Institute for Energy Research. Both groups have run television ads attacking Rahall.

Groups like Americans for Prosperity can spend an unlimited amount of money backing, or attacking, political candidates, as long as they do not have any direct contact with the candidates they are backing.

The Jenkins campaign criticized the new ad backing Rahall in a release sent to its supporters.

“The House Majority PAC, a group created to give Democrats control of the House and make Nancy Pelosi Speaker again, is going on the air in our district.

“Our momentum is so strong that the Democrats are literally throwing everything they can at us. It’s not going to stop, so we need to fight back.”

The release asks supporters to send Jenkins more campaign donations.

Americans for Prosperity opened a new chapter in West Virginia in January.

Matt Thornton, communications director for the House Majority PAC, said on Thursday, “Our most recent polls show that the more House Majority PAC tells West Virginians about Evan Jenkins, his record and the agenda of those billionaires supporting him, the less they like him.”